NEW HAVEN >> The jail cell death last weekend of Yale University professor Samuel See, known as a brilliant writer and rising star in academia, has shaken up the tight-knit college community.

Now adding to the mystery of his unexpected death are apparent connections between the online profiles of See and several escort service websites that include a cache of sexually explicit photos.

At least four websites advertising male escort services included a phone number connected to See.

The website Ryan Cochran Escort Services includes the same phone number listed on an order of protection filed against See in September. A profile photo on the Ryan Cochran Escort Service website matches the profile photograph on a LinkedIn account purporting to be See’s. The website lists Cochran’s home city as New Haven. A Facebook page with pictures resembling See and listed under the name Ryan Cochran includes See’s home address.

Advertisement

Two phone calls made to the number on the sex sites were not returned.

Two former colleagues said they had no knowledge of any connection between See and escort services.

“For the moment, I am trying to absorb the loss,” said fellow professor James Roach, who teaches English and drama at Yale and knew both See, 34, and his husband, Sunder Ganglani, 32.

See’s death Sunday morning came hours after he was arrested on suspicion of violating an order of protection that barred See from being in close proximity to his estranged husband. The cause of death is pending further study, according to the chief state medical examiner’s office.

The incident also led to Ganglani’s arrest on charges of violating a similar court order of protection that prohibited him from being near See. Ganglani is due in court Thursday.

See’s death rocked Yale’s faculty and student body. The news spread quickly across social media and reached California, See’s home state and where he attended college and graduate school.

On Twitter, students and friends expressed their grief over his tragic death.

“Sam See was my first English prof at Yale and the first prof I ever really connected with. Rest in peace, Sam, you’re going to be missed,” Larissa Pham tweeted Wednesday.

See attended California State University, Bakersfield, and hails from the city nestled in the heart of California farm country. He earned his doctorate at UCLA, where fellow students knew him as a gifted writer. Among the publications that printed his work was the prestigious Henry James Review at Johns Hopkins University.

“I read some of the things he had written as part of his employment here,” said Joseph Roach, Sterling Professor of Theater and English at Yale. “He wrote well and had great ideas.”

His work centered around themes of sexual orientation in modern literature.

In May of this year, See married Ganglani, himself closely connected to Yale. Ganglani attended Yale School of Drama. He served as Roach’s teaching assistant during the 2011-12 school year.

On Sept. 18, See and Ganglani were arrested on suspicion of breaching the peace and third-degree assault, in what court records indicate was a domestic dispute. The two were issued orders of protection by the court, ordering the couple to avoid close contact. Both men were due back in court on the matter this week.

On Nov. 23, just after 5 p.m., Ganglani, who currently lives in New York, went to See’s home in the 300 block of St. John Street to retrieve some of his personal items. According to police records, Ganglani remained in the residence for more than two hours. See allegedly asked Ganglani to leave; an argument ensued.

A relative at the home on Nov. 23 called the police, who arrived and arrested both men.

“Typically, protective orders are issued when a couple doesn’t get along,” said Norm Pattis, outspoken Connecticut defense attorney. “The biggest mistake people make with protective orders is thinking they can get out of it. It is still a judicial order and people can still violate them even when they are getting along.”

In See’s case, he was in violation of the order once he allowed Ganglani into the home, Pattis added.

According to a statement released by the police three days after See’s death, the Yale professor yelled at officers during the Nov. 23 incident, shouting “that it was his house and that he shouldn’t be arrested.”

See allegedly fought with the officers when they tried handcuffing him, and at one point allegedly yelled to an officer, “I will kill you. ... I will destroy you.”

See also was arrested on suspicion of interfering with a police investigation and making threats during the Nov. 23 incident.

He was treated at Yale-New Haven hospital for a cut above his eye and released into police custody and later taken to Union Avenue Detention Center, where he arrived at about 9:15 p.m. Nov. 23. His body was found the next day. Investigations by the New Haven Police Department and the chief state medical examiner’s office are underway.